US President Donald Trump on Saturday said that he had spoken at length with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and that “big progress” was being made toward a deal between the world’s largest economies.
The agreement would be “very comprehensive” and would cover “all subjects, areas and points of dispute,” Trump, who was spending the weekend in Washington, said in a tweet.
Trump’s comments came as a US trade delegation prepares to travel to Beijing next week for talks with Chinese officials. It is another sign that tensions might be cooling after months of brinkmanship, and that the leaders are following through on commitments made at their dinner meeting in Buenos Aires on Dec. 1.
Xi said that he and Trump hope to push for “stable progress” in US-China relations, and that bilateral ties are now at a vital stage, a Xinhua news agency report on the leaders’ telephone call said.
Xi added that he and Trump discussed various international and regional issues, and that China supports further talks between the US and North Korea and hopes for positive results, Xinhua reported.
It was unclear who initiated Saturday’s call. The White House, which typically does not release details of Trump’s calls with foreign leaders beyond what the president reveals himself, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Bloomberg News on Thursday reported that a US government delegation would travel to Beijing in the week of Jan. 7 for talks, two people familiar with the plans said.
US Deputy Trade Representative Jeffrey Gerrish is to lead the team, which is also to include US Department of the Treasury Undersecretary for International Affairs David Malpass, said the people, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer, whom Trump named to be in charge of the China talks, is not scheduled to join the delegation.
US stocks, beaten down recently by concerns about escalating tariff disputes, received a boost from news of the upcoming talks.
The gathering is to be the first face-to-face discussion between the two sides since Trump and Xi agreed to a 90-day truce during the Buenos Aires dinner.
US Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin on Dec. 18 said that the US and China have held discussions over the telephone since then.
Xi on Saturday said that officials from both countries have been working and he hopes the teams can meet each other halfway, Xinhua reported.
Negotiators on both sides have begun fleshing out a possible deal that includes ensuring greater access for foreign firms to China’s financial sector, but Trump might be overstating how close the countries are to agreement, the Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with “the state of negotiations.”
Beijing this week announced a third round of tariff cuts, saying it would lower import taxes on more than 700 goods from tomorrow as part of its efforts to open up the economy and lower costs for domestic consumers.
Trump, meanwhile, has agreed to put on hold a scheduled increase in tariffs on about US$200 billion in annual imports from China while the negotiations take place.
He is pushing the Asian nation to reduce trade barriers and stop the alleged theft of intellectual property.
Beijing so far has pledged to resume buying US soybeans and to at least temporarily lower retaliatory tariffs on US vehicles.
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